On Jan. 20, Ben Seidman bewildered and delighted a full audience of 312 here at Michigan Tech with his utterly unique mixture of magical humor. His wondrous show took place in the MUB ballroom at 8 p.m. with a set of comedic material especially for our university. Everyone in the crowd roared in euphoric laughter with each of Ben’s remarks about doing a show for engineers, and stirred in elated amazement when he accomplished a feat that would seem, to the untrained eye, impossible.
Seidman got his big break into the business by working as a consultant for Criss Angel’s “Mindfreak” for three seasons. Angel discovered him after seeing a performance of one of Seidman’s self-developed card tricks at a dingy Las Vegas bar. After consulting for Criss Angel, Seidman set out to develop a strong and varied career as he became the only Resident Magician Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino ever had, as well many performances around the world from the Bahamas to China to Sweden. He also even appeared on Penn and Teller’s “Fool Us,” a show centered on performing a trick that the world famous duo can’t figure out. Even his comedic career is quite fleshed out as Seidman has performed at many comedy clubs throughout the U.S., one such being Catch a Rising Star.
All of this experience in honing his craft was well on display that Friday night as he was always vibrant and interactive, even when the lights no longer lit the stage. After the show, Seidman stood by the exit of the ballroom to converse with any students that were interested. Always radiating with charisma, he took pictures, talked about the show, and received fanfare from the large crowd that gathered near him. He received them all with enthusiasm, enjoying the turnout and energy that reminded him of why he performs. One of Seidman’s favorite things about performing at colleges is the unpredictability of the audience.
“I never know what I am going to expect when I’m performing at a college, like I could get a really awesome theater, or a really cool room like this one [MUB ballroom], or I could be in a really terrible venue and I never know what to expect until I get there, so it’s always a surprise that always keeps it interesting,” said Seidman. There is a certain air of approachability about him that drew all of those students in, especially since he always has a trick or quip up his sleeve. Seidman will certainly never forget Michigan Tech after being one of his favorite shows in a long time and we all hope that he comes back for another stellar performance in the future.
To learn more about Ben Seidman, visit his website, www.benseidman.com.
